Charlie Bone and the Beacon of Hope
by stardust1691
Summary: A new girl is arriving at Bloor's a girl with a lot of talent however a talent that she would rather hide from the Bloor's. However in order to truly help the children of the Red King fighting against the Bloor's she must betray herself and use her powers
1. Chapter 1

Charlie Bone and the beacon of hope

Chapter 1

Rain hit the car window as we travelled along yet another road, a road that was leading us further and further away from the place I had called home for the last 16 years. This move they said was for my benefit they were moving me, moving us closer to the home of our ancestor the mysterious Red King. So here we were me, mum and dad heading to a new home and life.

An hour later we arrived at our new house, don't get me wrong I liked the new house, I had my own room and it looked lovely but I couldn't help feeling sick. This city felt strange I can't quite explain how or why it feels strange but it does and I know mum and dad can feel it as well. Mum and Dad are endowed just like me but their gifts are much more subtle than mine. Mum can look at a person and instantly know what is troubling them and also what they need to make themselves feel better. Sometimes this gift is great as you never need to explain your problems to her as she will know what they are instantly and also know what to do to help. However it also has its downsides for example last year when I accidently knocked over her favourite vase she knew instantly just with one look at me and she took a week to get over it.

Dad's gift is quite similar to Mum's he can feel the emotions of people around him and can also help to control them if he needs to. This is very handy during arguments because as soon as dad walks into the room everyone calms down. So between my parents and their endowments it is very had to be feeling any emotion other than happy for very long.

My Gifts are not quite as subtle as my parents and yes I do mean gifts. My parents think the reason I have so many endowments is because of our unusual family tree as unlike most children of the red king who are descended from one of the children I am descended from 4. This is because each of my grandparents was descended from a different child of the red king and so as a result I am descended from all four. Throw in with that 3 sorcerers and a sorceress and then you have my family. In total I have 10 gifts which is mind blowing for me let alone anyone else as I am the one who has to control them enough so that no one else knows how many I possess. This is why I don't understand why we have moved here, I have spent my life learning to control my gifts so that they don't fall into the hands of the wrong people as it where and now we have moved to the very place where many of these people live.

My parents believe that we have moved her to fulfil our destinies and are roles in the battle that has been going on for over 900 years between the red king's children. So as a result we have a meeting with the headmaster of Bloor's academy tomorrow and then I will be starting school on Monday. 'Come on Mia teas ready' mum's call caught me by surprise I must have been standing in my new room for a lot longer than I thought, I took a last look out of the window before I headed downstairs for tea.

The morning came much faster than I had wanted it to; I had been dreading setting eyes on Bloor's and the family who ran it. I had heard many stories about the school and the Bloor family from my dad who had been to Bloor's as a boy and I knew that the Bloor's were just the sort of people I had been hiding my gifts from and now I would be walking straight into their school. 'All ready to go' my dad asked with a smile 'do I have to go to Bloor's dad? I mean there are plenty of good sixth form collages around here that I could go to instead'. Dad just looked at me for a minute with one of his usual smiles 'You're endowed and Bloor's is where the endowed go besides I think you will be just what the school needs.' With a sigh I knew that there was no room for argument so I picked up my coat and headed towards to door.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As we pulled up outside Bloor's I knew instantly that the Bloor's were defiantly not the sort of people that I wanted to know my gifts and I also knew that they were the sort of people who would not stop until they did know them. 'Please remember that I don't want the Bloor's to know what my gifts are at least not yet anyway.' My mum and dad just smiled at me 'of course we won't tell them what your endowments are and besides I think it would be wise not to tell them about your gifts at least for now.' My dad replied, mum then turned to me. 'Besides it's up to you when and if you tell people about your gift's no one can force you to do anything you don't want to do.' No matter how much I wanted what my mum had said to be true I couldn't help feeling that the Bloor's were not afraid to use a bit of force.

As we made our way up the front steps the door was opened by a man 'you must be the king's?' the man said 'yes we are I'm Mr King and this is my wife and daughter Mia.' As my father introduced us both me and my mother smiled. 'You're expected the headmaster is waiting for you in his office, I will show you up.' 'Thank-you' my father replied. As we made our way through the school I was started to feel more and more sick with every step I took until suddenly the man knocked on the nearest door and a voice replied 'come in'.

'Ah Weedon thank-you for bringing our guests up' as Weedon turned and headed back out of the room the headmaster said ' Please take a seat' at this he pointed to the three chairs that were laid out opposite the headmasters chair. We all took our seats when there was a knock on the door and a young man entered the room he looked about 19 with dark hair and cold black eyes. 'Mr and Mrs King and Mia this is my son Manfred he is the talents master here at Bloor's, Manfred these are the king's.' Manfred turned to look at us and I knew that he was going to be a problem; one look at him also told me that his endowments were also going to cause a problem. You see one of my gifts is that I can tell instantly from one look at a person if they are endowed and if so what their endowment or endowments are. This gift can come in very handy when trying to avoid people with dangerous gifts that could cause harm. Manfred was one such person whose gifts where very dangerous and therefore should not be tackled lightly.

'Pleased to meet you' Manfred said 'and may I ask are you endowed?' I looked at my parents who were both looking at me then I turned to look at Manfred 'Yes I am' I replied this school was having a really bad effect on me I wasn't normally this shy or nervous but now all of a sudden I was acting like a timid mouse. 'Come on Mia pull yourself together' I thought this is not like you don't let them think that you are scared. 'And what is it?' Manfred asked sounding quite board 'Gifts actually' I stared horror struck at my mum 'she has 10' she continued still oblivious to the faces of the people around her. Me and my dad looked horrified while the Bloor's suddenly looked very interested and both appeared to have moved in closer. 'MUM' my mum turned to look at me and suddenly realised what she had said cried 'I'm sorry dear I forgot but I didn't tell them what they were just that you had a lot.' My father with his head in his hands turned to look at me and smiled, he then turned to the Bloor's and said 'anyway we have established that yes my daughter Mia here is endowed but at this moment in time does not wish to share what her endowments are with others.'

Dr Bloor looked at my father then at me again until finally turning back to my father and said 'right well let's sort out all the documents for Mia to start here tomorrow.' While my parents and Dr Bloor were sorting out the paper work I started to look around the room, as I gazed around the room I noticed that Manfred's eyes had not left me and the look on his face had changed completely. Gone was the look of boredom now in its place was a hungry look the sort of look that made you feel as if you were something to be owned and used rather than a human.

'Well that's all sorted then' my dad said merrily as we left the school gates, 'yep' was all I could manage to say. My mum then turned to me 'cheer up Mia you will have a great time at Bloor's and besides you get to wear a really cute blue cape.' 'What?' I asked 'weren't you paying attention in that meeting?' 'I was but I felt quite ill in there so all I kept thinking of was leaving'. My mother sighed at me 'well Bloor's has three different department's drama, art and music and because your father was in music when he went to Bloor's that is where you have been put.' 'Music?, but I don't play anything', 'well that doesn't matter as your endowed and besides that's what schools are for to teach you.' 'Right so I am in music but why do I have to wear a blue cape?' 'You really weren't paying attention were you? Each department wears a different coloured cape and music wears blue.'

The rest of the day went in the blink of an eye and in no time at all I was sat on the end of my bed with my suitcase all packed for the next day. As I sat on my bed I began to think about school and the other endowed children that attend. I knew that with the history of the red king and his children that there would be a divide amongst the endowed and for the moment at least I intend to stay in the middle. Just as I was thinking this there was a small knock at the door 'come in' I said at this my dad walked into the room and sat down next to me. He smiled at me 'don't be nervous I know that's easier said than done but try. You're a strong person so I know that you will be able to cope with anything Bloor's or its residents throw at you.' At this I smiled my dad always had a way of making me smile whether this was his endowment of his personality I don't know but never the less the effect was the same.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

'What's the matter Mia you haven't touched your toast? You can't start your first day at a new school with an empty stomach', 'come on chick your mothers right you need a good breakfast, besides the food at Bloor's might be awful.' Slowly I picked my piece of toast up and took a bite, 'come on Mia get a grip' but the more I told myself this the worse I felt. 'You will be fine once you get there I promise you love, it's just the nerves that everyone gets when starting a new school.' I looked at my mum and the confident look on her face and smiled, 'of course it is mum I am just being silly don't worry about me.'

'Right are you two ready to go then, as we don't want you to be late on your first day do we?' my dad chuckled to himself. My parents had decided to drive me to school today rather than me catch the school bus as it was my first day. So I went upstairs to get my bag while my parents were getting their coats on then once my mum had checked I had everything we loaded up the car and left for Bloor's. The journey to Bloor's was over in a heartbeat and in no time at all it was time for me to get out of the car. As I got out of the car my dad went to get my bag out of the boot while my mum hugged me on the pavement. 'Now try and have a good time at school and me and your father will see you on the weekend when you can tell us all about it.' My mum let go of me and beamed 'I know you will do us proud' with that she stepped back and my father came over 'have fun but don't let those Bloor's boss you around too much or make you do anything you don't want to do, ok.' 'Ok dad I won't don't worry', suddenly the school entrance was full of people I turned around to notice that a school bus had just pulled up and a lot of children in blue capes were getting out. 'Right I better go inside' I said to my parents 'I don't want to be late on my first day', with that I gave them both one last hug, picked up my bag and headed for the front door.

As I headed for the front door I could feel the eyes of the other students on me and I feeling of dread washed over me. Just as I got to the steps leading up to the front door I caught my foot on a loose stone and stumbled into a boy who was just in front of me. 'Oh I'm so sorry' I said to the boy, the boy just looked round at me and smiled 'don't worry about it' he said 'you must be new here.' 'Yes I am, is it obvious?' I joked 'not really, I'm Charlie by the way Charlie Bone.' 'Nice to meet you Charlie I'm Mia' I smiled to myself at least there was one friendly person at this school 'oh in case you don't know, no talking is allowed in the entrance hall ,you can only talk once you have crossed under the doorway marked with the crossed trumpets.' 'Oh thanks for the warning' I whispered and with this we crossed into the entrance hall.

Once in the Blue clock room Charlie showed me where to go and what to do which was very handy as I would have defiantly gotten lost if it hadn't have been for him. He then led me through into the music assembly and then pointed me in the direction of my first class. 'This isn't going to be too bad' I thought to myself as I sat in my second lesson of the day. Everything went well until that evening at tea I was sat down next to Charlie on the music table, suddenly Dr Bloor stood up and the hall went silent. 'I have an announcement' Dr Bloor declared 'We have a new endowed student who has joined us at our school Mia will you stand up please?' Reluctantly I stood up with my face rapidly turning the shade of a tomato, I was desperately trying to hide my face with my long brown hair but in the end I gave up. 'I hope all of you will make her feel welcome and Mia I am sure one of the other endowed students will show you where to go to do your homework right everyone dismissed.' He barked and with that every student started moving and I started to panic as I had no idea what was going on, then someone tapped me on the shoulder. 'Are you ready to go to the king's room then Mia' I turned around and it was Charlie 'are you endowed then?' I asked 'Yeah so let's go otherwise Manfred will be on the warpath.' With that we both hurried out of the room.

Charlie led me through a maze of passages and doors and I was convinced it would take me a lifetime to learn my way to the king's room 'don't worry it won't take you long to learn the way' Charlie said. 'Here we are the king's room' with that Charlie opened the door and walked in. The first thing in the room I saw was a picture of what must have been the red king, the picture was so captivating that I could have started at it all night apart from I realised that everyone was looking at me. Slowly I looked around the rest of the room and noticed a large table with a group of children of varying ages sat around it. In total I counted eleven children sat around the room in two distinct groups I decided to take a seat roughly in the middle of the table as I didn't want to be seen as taking sides at least not on my first day. All eyes in the room were on me then suddenly the door was flung open and in walked Manfred Bloor. He looked around the room spotted me, smiled and then took his place at the table to my horror Manfred had taken the seat that was opposite mine. The thought of spending the next few hours with Manfred's cold black eyes staring at me was not a pleasant one however there was nothing I could do about it so I tried to block out the thoughts.

'Have they all introduced themselves to you then Mia?' Manfred asked with a hint of sarcasm 'no' I replied, 'well then let's get the introduction's out of the way so you can all get on with your work.' As the table started introducing themselves I couldn't help noticing that just like in the meeting with the headmaster Manfred was still staring at me. I was starting to feel very unnerved so I tried to concentrate properly on the names of the people sat round the table and their endowments. Not that I needed to be told what their endowments were but as I didn't want anyone to know any of my gifts I had to at least appear to be listening.

'So what is your endowment then? One of the boys asked I think his name was Joshua, just as I was about to open my mouth to reply, Manfred said in a mocking tone 'oh well nobody knows as she doesn't want to tell anyone about her gift's.' I knew what Manfred was trying to do and it made me dislike him even more than I had already started to feel. 'What do you mean gifts?' Charlie asked first looking at Manfred then at me 'what Manfred means is that I have more than one endowment, however for the moment at least I would like to keep them to myself, just in case.' At my last words Manfred raised one eyebrow at me but didn't say anything then Tancred announced 'that seems fair enough to me' and he smiled 'although just out of curiosity how many do you actually have?' I sighed 'ten' at this everyone gasped and I went bright red, when I looked up at Manfred I could see him grinning to himself. 'No' I thought 'I really, really don't like you.'

The next few days went by very quickly and were very uneventful; I was starting to think that keeping my gifts to myself would be easier than I thought however I had spoken too soon. 'Thursday evening' Charlie smiled on the way to the kings room 'what about Thursday evening?' I said. 'Well' he said 'Thursday evening is the last evening we have to spend in the king's room until Monday'. I laughed and we both entered the king's room, I took the seat in the middle of the table again while Charlie took his normal seat. Manfred was already in the king's room but he had looked unusually happy and he kept smiling and me. This made me instantly suspicious as I trusted Manfred less than I trusted a hungry Lion not to eat me. Despite Manfred's strange behaviour everything else was normal so I proceeded to get my books and pens out and start my work. It wasn't until an hour later that things started to happen. Everyone was bent over doing their work when suddenly a book came out of nowhere and hit Charlie hard in the head. 'Owch' Charlie yelled everyone looked over at the Branko twins who were both sat there staring at Charlie. Suddenly books started flying all over the room; all of a sudden I knew what Manfred's smile had been about. I forced myself not to react but then a book came flying towards my face and I couldn't help myself.

The next moment the book was suspended in the air in front of my face and I saw Manfred's gloating face looking at me from across the table. Anger seeped through me, I was angry both at myself and at Manfred as now one of my gifts had been revealed. Without thinking I launched the book back across the room straight at Manfred's face, then realising that I would be given detention if the book actually hit him I stopped it just in time and set it back down on the table. Everyone was staring at me I could feel myself going bright red and the sudden urge to cry washed over me. How could I have betrayed myself and Manfred had done it so easily, I realised I must be an awful lot more cautious in future.

'So Mia one of your gifts is telekinesis' Manfred smirked 'Yes it is' I said quietly. The Branko twin's started sniggering at me 'and I can assure you that I have more talent in my little finger than those dolls over there have between them' as soon as the words were out of my mouth I regretted them. 'Mia you Idiot' I screamed at myself as I knew what was about to happen. Sure enough a book came flying at my head but I deflected it, this kept happening for the next half an hour until eventually I had, had enough. 'Look just stop it' I exclaimed but they just continued to launch books at me. 'Fine you asked for it' I replied I figured that as everyone already knew I was a telekinetic they may as well see what I could do. So I sent two books at the twin's one directed at each however I had no intention of letting them stop it. As the books neared the girls I could feel them attempt to stop me but their attempts only slowed the books down a little but didn't stop them. The books collided with the twin's heads and they both cried out at this point I looked at Manfred and his face resembled that of a young boy on Christmas day.

I then proceeded to carry on with my work as if nothing had happened but on the inside I was kicking myself. What was it my dad had said at the start of the week 'don't let them make you do anything you don't want to do' well it was already too late for that and I had a horrible feeling that the Bloor's had only just begun.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Friday dragged by all I wanted to do was leave this school and get home but it was as if the world was playing a horrible trick on me as every minute felt like an hour. At lunch I tried to eat my food as fast I could so I could get out of the crowed hall and find somewhere quite, somewhere quite where I couldn't be found by anyone especially Manfred. As I was trying to hurriedly finish off the last of my lunch I was aware that someone had sat down opposite me 'are you alright Mia?' Charlie's voice sounded so concerned 'yeah I'm fine don't worry about me' I said looking up at him, I tried to smile but my mouth didn't seem to remember how to. 'Well I came to say that you shouldn't beat yourself up for falling for Manfred's tricks he has got all of us at one time or another. So try and cheer up and think you still have nine powers that he doesn't know about which I can guarantee will be driving him and his family crazy.' I looked into Charlie's face and I couldn't help smile 'thank-you Charlie I guess I am just annoyed that I didn't see it, I mean I should have seen it but I was too caught up in everything.' 'You couldn't have known what he was planning' Charlie smiled 'I should have known but I was too full of myself I thought I was too clever to be tricked by him so I wasn't on my guard and now I have revealed one of my powers. I know what you're thinking one isn't the end of the world and your right it isn't but it's more the feeling that I betrayed myself and also that he made me do something that I didn't want to do. At least I will be on my guard properly in the future, plus now they know I am a telekinetic I will be able to defend myself if they decide to throw any more books in my direction.' At this Charlie grinned at me 'that's the spirit' he said I smiled back, it felt strange as I was a few years older than Charlie but yet here he was giving me advice.

I decided that hiding myself away wasn't going to do me any favours so I followed Charlie outside to where his friends were sitting on a log by the castle ruins. Before we had reached the group I saw them all look up at us 'are you sure they won't mind me joining you?' I asked Charlie 'don't be silly besides Olivia has been dying to meet you.' 'Hi Mia, is it true that you have 10 endowments?' I was slightly taken aback by this but I quickly recovered 'you must be Olivia? And yes it is true, How come you're not in the kings room to do your homework at night like the rest of the endowed people at this school?' By the look on everyone's faces I realised I had said something that I shouldn't have known. 'How? How? How did you know?' Charlie spluttered 'umm well' before I had time to say anymore Olivia turned to stare at Charlie 'well it's obvious isn't it you told her Charlie Bone how could you?' 'Look Olivia Charlie didn't tell me anything it's one of my endowment's, all I have to do is look at someone and I know whether they are endowed or not and what their gift is and so on.' Olivia then turned to look at me 'How do I know that you're not just lying to save his skin?' 'Well I can tell you that Manfred has two endowments hypnotism and he can burn objects with his fingers.' 'He can do what?' Tancred asked 'burn objects with his fingers, so for example he could set fire to a piece of wood or burn someone's arm just by touching it.' 'Great just what we need Manfred to have another power, another power he can use against us.' Lysander walked up to Tancred and patted him on the back 'don't worry Tanc we have gained another ten endowments to use against him' at this everyone in the group turned to look at me. I looked around at their faces and they all looked so hopeful 'I had hoped to stay natural in this' at this there're faces stopped looking hopeful and some looked sad while others looked disappointed. 'As I said I had hoped to stay neutral, however I really can't stand bully's or people who take enjoyment from causing others pain.' They were all still looking at me Emma, Charlie, Tancred, Lysander, Gabriel, Olivia and Charlie's friend Fidelio I looked at them and smiled 'so as I am against all those things I guess that means that yes you do have ten extra endowments.' I suddenly felt sick to my stomach I had broken another one of my promises to myself I had joined a side although the looks on the faces of the people around me made me feel like I had made the right choice. How much this choice would cost me I didn't know but what I did know was that I couldn't stand by and watch the Bloor's carry out their schemes and do nothing about it.

Finally it was time to go home I was so relieved when I went to collect my bag to leave, on the way back downstairs I was so preoccupied thinking about what I would tell me parents that I didn't notice someone ahead of me in the corridor. All of a sudden I looked up and saw him standing there just in front of me with a big grin on his face. Seeing Manfred made me feel sick and annoyed at the same time, 'come on Mia don't let him intimidate you' I thought. 'Hello Mia I was hoping I would bump into you' 'were you' I replied the longer we stood in this corridor the more annoyed I became, all I wanted to do was go home after a bad first week and the person who had caused my bad week was preventing me from leaving. 'Yes I just wanted to ask you how your first week at Bloor's had gone' he said with a smirk 'it went alright, a few mishaps but apart from that it went fine, thank-you. Now if you don't mind I have a bus to catch and I would hate to miss it.' At this I attempted to walk past Manfred but he moved to block me, 'So if you will please excuse me I better get going.' Manfred looked at me with his cold black eyes, I didn't look into them as I knew full well what they could do but I felt somehow drawn to them. I fought the urge to look and instead I inspected the corridor behind Manfred 'look at me Mia' Manfred's voice sounded so convincing but I knew that I shouldn't 'if you don't mind I really must get going' I said and again I tried to move past him. 'You can go as soon as you look at me Mia' I started to panic I could feel my gaze being drawn upwards I tried to fight it but it was no use. Suddenly there was a loud bang behind me and it broke Manfred's spell I looked around to see Charlie bone stood there 'what do you think you are doing Bone' Manfred barked at him 'sorry sir I tripped and dropped my case' Charlie said with a grin. Manfred looked furiously at Charlie and then turned his attention back to me but I wasn't going to give Manfred another chance 'right sir, Charlie and I really ought to get going otherwise we will both miss the school bus.' With that I moved quickly around Manfred and hurried up the corridor 'have a nice weekend Mia' Manfred grinned 'and I will look forward to seeing you on Monday.' With that both Charlie and I hurried off up the corridor towards the entrance hall and towards freedom.

After what felt like an age the blue bus finally pulled up at the top of my road I thanked the driver and jumped of the bus as fast as I could and headed for home. My mum was waiting for me in the hall when I opened the front door 'oh there you are I was getting worried' my mum said as she gave me a hug. 'Don't worry about me mum' I said 'well its part of my job as a mum to worry about you' she laughed 'and anyway by the looks of you I have every right to worry' as she said this she looked at me with a concerned expression. 'Seriously mum I'm fine' 'well your father will be home any minute now and then you can tell us all about your first week and all about the things that trouble you.' With that she turned and headed towards the kitchen, I decided to take my bag up to my room before dad came home. I walked into my room and noticed that mum and finished unpacking all my things for me, it was hard to believe that it was only a week ago that we had arrived at this house for the first time. Hard to believe that only a week ago I had never laid eyes on Bloor's, I started to unpack my bag. Once I had unpacked my bag I sat down on my bed and gazed around my room then I heard the front door open.

Over tea I told my parents all about my first week at Bloor's and everything that had gone wrong. As I talked my parents just listened they didn't interrupt me which helped after I had finished my dad smiled at me. 'It sounds to me that you have had a busy week' 'busy, well I suppose busy is one word for it and so is bad' as I said this I had to fight back the tears. 'Mia what's the matter?' 'I just feel like I have betrayed myself and the promises I made to myself and now instead of staying neutral I have ended up choosing a side. It sounds stupid but I feel like the Bloor's managed to steal something from me that I can't get back.' My mum put her arm around me and my dad just kept on smiling 'the fact that you decided to side with Charlie Bone and his friends instead of staying neutral like you had wanted to has made me and your mother so proud of you. I knew you would make the right choice when it came to choosing sides and it makes me so proud. Yes you ended up revealing one of your powers but so what you have plenty more that you managed to keep secret so you shouldn't feel ashamed at what has happened this week at all.' I looked at my dad and the proud look on his face and I couldn't help but feel better, whether this was his endowment or just the thought that my parents were proud of me I didn't know but the effect was still the same.

That night I went to bed determined that when Monday morning came I would be ready and prepared for Bloor's academy and anything they had to throw at me. No way was Manfred going to get the better of me so he would have a nasty surprise if he tried.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Monday morning arrived and I was relieved to find that I was still feeling quite determined and prepared rather than the nervous and shy feelings that had consumed me the week before. I had never normally been a very shy or timid person but Bloor's had managed to bring that side of me out however I was set on putting that side of me away again. I went downstairs with all my stuff packed and ready for the bus and found my mum in the kitchen; my mum was humming a strange tune and moving around the kitchen. I watched my mum move and it made me think about what she must have looked like when she was younger, my mum was a pretty woman with brown hair to her shoulders and amazing blue eyes that my dad always said looked like pools of clear blue water. The more I looked at my mum the more I realised how pretty she was and how she must have looked when her and my dad met. I don't know how long I was standing there looking at my mum but eventually my mum turned round 'what are you doing standing there? Don't you want some breakfast?' At this my stomach rumbled 'yes breakfast sounds like a good idea' I laughed, I ate my breakfast at the table with my mum sat opposite me drinking her usual morning coffee. 'How are you feeling about going back?' My mum asked 'not too bad mum' I smiled 'I am determined to not let the Bloor's or that school get the better of me so they will get a shock when they see me as I am a different person this week. Besides I have been thinking about my endowments and as long as they don't find out about one particular gift it doesn't matter too much if they find out about the others.' 'Which gift is that?' 'Healing, as long as they don't find out I can heal people then it doesn't matter so much about the rest.' 'Why is it so important that they don't find out about healing compared to your other endowments such as shape-shifting, or how you can control fire, water, air and earth, read minds or create force fields?' 'Healing is so important as Ezekiel Bloor would force me to heal him so he could walk and then lock me up so that I could heal him whenever something needed fixing as it were, just think about what a fit and healthy Ezekiel would be like he would be able to do so much more plus he would live a lot longer. I would end up being the personal cure for all the Bloor's and their health problems just think they could end up living much longer than the average person and therefore prolonging their power and time here. Besides imagine how much money they could make out of having a miracle cure, how many people they could draw to their cause by having a person who could cure any health problem no matter how big or how small. No it is vital that they don't find out otherwise I fear the results would not be very good for anyone on the opposing side to the Bloor's.'

Twenty minutes later I was sat on the blue school bus on the way to Bloor's because my house was one of the first stops on the buses route I had my pick of seat so I chose one quite near the back and started to read a book. As the bus continued on its route the bus started to fill up but I didn't look up from my book, I was then aware of someone calling my name I looked up to see that the bus was now nearly empty 'Come on Mia it's time to get off' Charlie's cheery voice called from half way down the bus. I hurriedly got off the bus and grabbed my things 'thanks Charlie I was in a world of my own' I grinned 'are you ready for your second week at Bloor's?' Charlie asked 'as ready as I will ever be, but the question is, are the Bloor's and their academy ready for me' I laughed. With that we joined the throng of student's waiting to enter the school for another week.

My lesson's at Bloor's went by quite quickly just as they had done the week before, this was partly due to the fact that I quite enjoyed learning which the teachers liked and I was also quite clever another thing the teachers liked. However the fact that my lessons passed by quickly meant that the time between each night in the king's room also went quickly. I was sat down eating my tea nervously anticipating the next two hours of homework in the king's room when someone coughed behind me. I debated ignoring the cough but I knew that it would do no good 'Hello Manfred did you have a good weekend' I said as I slowly turned around to face him. 'You mean sir' he sneered 'sir' I replied 'Mia I would like to see you in my office' 'when sir' I smiled sweetly. 'Now as we have twenty minutes before you are due to start your homework.' At this I turned to Charlie 'I will see you in the king's room then Charlie' at this I got up and followed Manfred along the corridors to his office. Once we were inside his small office he directed me to a chair and indicated for me to sit in it, I slowly sat down and waited for what I knew was coming.

Manfred sat down in the chair opposite me 'so Mia how are you finding things here at Bloor's?' 'Things are going fine thank you' I responded calmly 'yes your teachers are all very impressed with your work and the way you have settled in.' We both just sat looking at each other, I knew that he was about to get onto the subject of my endowments, 'well Mia the real reason I have called you here is to discuss your endowments.' I smiled to myself 'this is going to get interesting' I thought 'what is there to discuss?' I asked 'I have ten endowments one of which is telekinesis' 'well that is exactly the issue, you have ten endowments and we only know about one of them.' He had such a hungry look on his face as he said this as if the information I was withholding from him was his next meal. 'Well I don't want to tell you what my other gifts are, I thought this had been made clear' at this Manfred grinned 'I thought you would say that but the thing is we are not happy with that answer.' 'Well who is we?' I asked although I already knew the answer 'well it doesn't matter who we is' Manfred sneered 'well it does to me' I exclaimed 'by we do you mean your great grandfather and Charlie's aunts and grandmother and a whole host of other people?' Manfred looked surprised for a moment and then he smiled but it wasn't a friendly smile it was the sort of smile that put you on edge 'well, well, well, now that is interesting how did you know that?' As Manfred said this he leaned forward in his chair so that his face was only a few inches away from mine, I suddenly sat up straight and moved my chair backwards 'I am not going to let you hypnotise me that easily sir!' Manfred chuckled 'we will see about that.' A shiver went up my spin but I wasn't scared of him like I would have been last week I felt strangely calm and confident.

'So Mia back onto the subject of your gifts' I looked across at Manfred and smiled 'as I said sir I do not wish to tell you what my endowments are.' 'Well Mia as I said we are not happy with that answer' we just looked at each other for a minute in silence 'right Mia if this is how you are going to be there are a few people who want to see you.' As Manfred said this he had a horrible grin on his face as thought he was looking forward to what was about to come. 'So when do I get to meet them?' I asked trying to sound a lot more confident than I felt 'very soon don't you worry, tonight after homework in the king's room I will take you to meet them and then we will see about your endowments.'

Manfred then stood up 'you better get moving if you don't want to be late to start your homework as lateness results in detention and we wouldn't want that to happen now would we?' 'Of course not sir' I said as I started to hurry out of the room, once outside I realised I had a problem. Looking up and down the corridor I realised that I didn't know how to get from here to the King's room and I knew that I had to beat Manfred to the king's room otherwise I would be in detention something I knew Manfred would enjoy. I hurried down the corridor as I knew this was the direction we had come in; when I reached the end of the corridor I had two other corridors to choose from however they both looked the same. I felt like kicking myself for not paying attention when Manfred had brought me up here how stupid I had been I checked my watch, 'come on Mia three minutes' I thought to myself. I decided that the corridor that headed to the left looked slightly familiar, to my relief at the end of this corridor I recognised one of the portraits on the wall so I knew I was heading in the right direction. I hurried down the corridor that was opposite the portrait and came out near the canteen, a feeling of relief and joy filled me only to be dashed by a clock chiming. I ran through the maze of corridors and burst in through the door to the king's room just as the clock finished chiming. To my surprise Manfred wasn't in the kings room yet so I quickly sat down in my usual chair and grabbed my books and pens out of my bag 'Wow now this is what I call cutting it fine Mia' Tancred grinned. 'I know' I grinned back 'for a minute there I thought I had landed myself with a detention but somehow I managed to beat Manfred here.' At this Charlie, Emma, Tancred, Lysander, Billy and Gabriel all grinned at me, and then suddenly the door to the king's room flew open and in strode Manfred.

As Manfred made his way to his chair it was obvious that he was in a really bad mood, I thought I would put my mind reading endowment to good use to find out what had caused this sudden change in mood. No sooner had I read Manfred's mind I wished I hadn't as an uncontrollable desire to laugh came over me, it was so bad I had to pinch my hand underneath the table to stop myself from bursting into a fit of giggles. Charlie who was sat next to me noticed that I was pinching my hand 'what are you doing Mia?' he whispered 'trying not to laugh' I whispered back but even as I said this a small giggle escaped my mouth. Manfred's head turned sharply in my direction 'who was that?' Manfred snapped, the room went quiet 'I said who was that?' Manfred said in an aggressive tone. 'Sorry Sir it was me I sneezed' I quickly lied, 'you sneezed? Well that was a very strange sneeze it sounded more like someone laughing to me.' Manfred glared over at me but I kept his gaze as I knew if I looked away he would know for sure that I was lying to him, 'Well?' 'No sir it was defiantly a sneeze.' The room was silent as everyone looked at Manfred to see his response 'why is nobody doing there're homework get to work all of you otherwise it will be detention for everyone.' At this everyone bent their heads down and got back to their work. Luckily the urge to laugh had gone and I got on with my homework without any more disturbances.

Just as the two hours of homework time were up Manfred announced 'right everyone pack up and get out of my sight, except you Mia pack your things up then come with me.' As we were packing our things up Charlie whispered 'why does Manfred want you to go with him?' 'He is going to introduce me to a few relatives of yours' I sighed 'oh well good luck with that then if I don't see you around tomorrow I will come and find you.' 'Thanks Charlie that's really kind' I smiled at him just as I was about to zip my bag up Charlie asked 'oh by the way what were you laughing at earlier?' 'Oh that I replied I was laughing at Manfred tripping over Blessed on his way to the king's room and therefore making him late' Charlie burst into laughter as he finished packing up his things. 'What are you laughing at Bone?' Manfred gave Charlie a piercing look as he said this, Charlie averted his gaze from Manfred 'nothing sir' Charlie replied 'well get lost Bone before I give you detention.' Charlie gave me one last smile and then left the room as fast as he could, as detention was not something that you wanted especially not in Bloor's. 'Come on then Mia' Manfred sneered 'we don't want to keep them waiting' and with that we set off in the direction of the Bloor's private quarters.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As we entered the Bloor's private quarters Manfred grabbed the top of my arm and started to pull me along after him 'ow let me go' I cried as Manfred tightened his grip on my arm. Manfred just laughed and carried on pulling me along the corridor, finally we reached a door near the end of a particularly long corridor and Manfred stopped. With one last grin at me Manfred knocked on the door with one hand while the other still gripped onto my arm. Then the most horrible voice I think I had ever heard called out 'come in', I shuddered at the sound of the voice and I could only imagine what waited for me on the other side of the door.

Manfred opened the door and steered me inside where he finally released my arm, I rubbed my arm as I looked around the room both at its occupants and at the objects that decorated the room. Looking around I spotted Mr Ezekiel Bloor himself sat in his wheelchair by a blazing fire, surrounding him where four women I guessed these were Charlie's Great aunts and his grandmother. All the women had the same horrible hungry looks that I had seen displayed on Manfred's face before, but of all the people in the room I couldn't take my eyes off Ezekiel. He looked so frail and old I couldn't quite believe he was still alive however his eyes were another matter; his eyes were cold and full of life and hunger. One look at his eyes told me that if he ever did find out about my healing powers he wouldn't hesitate to use them and that was something that I couldn't let happen. 'So this must be the Mia we have all heard so much about' Ezekiel Bloor said I don't know what was more creepy the weird forced smile he was giving me or the way he had tried to make his voice sound friendly. 'Yes great grandfather this is Mia' at this Manfred pushed me closer to the people gathered round the fire. 'Well I am very pleased to meet such a talented member of our academy how many gifts is it you have Mia?' 'Ten' I replied trying to sound as confident as I possibly could which given the current situation wasn't very confident at all. 'Ten, now that is very impressive my dear you are a very talented girl' I turned to look at the women who had spoken she looked younger than the other women with black hair and clever eyes, I made a mental note to myself to be careful around this woman. The woman I guessed was probable Charlie's aunt Venetia from the times I had heard him talking about his family, Venetia gave me a smile and then continued. 'So what are your gift's my dear? I bet with so many gifts you can't wait to tell people what they are and show what you can do.' 'No not really I am quite happy with keeping my gift's to myself that way I avoid people using my gift's for their own purposes and also it means that I don't reveal all my cards as it were.' At this I smiled my sweetest smile at all the people gathered round the fire and waited for their reactions. 'Oh well that's a shame, we already know that one of your endowments is telekinesis so we were wondering if you could tell us a couple more of your gifts, just so we know the best way to help you develop with your gifts and to make sure you can use them properly.' Venetia was defiantly one to watch out for I decided especially after that little speech. 'I would really rather prefer to keep my gifts to myself if you don't mind', 'well you see here is the problem, we do mind' Manfred said as he came to stand right behind me.

With that Manfred grabbed my arms again but this time he wasn't gripping me as hard as he had done on the way here but the faces of all the other people in the room told me that I should be feeling pain. I quickly read Manfred's mind and realised with horror what was happening, Manfred was using his horrible talent for burning things on my arms but because I could control fire it had no effect on me so I wasn't really in any pain. However everyone else would be shouting and screaming for Manfred to let go, I looked at Ezekiel and I knew that he had already worked it out and by looking in Manfred's head he had worked it out as well. 'Well, well, well I didn't expect that, it seems we have more in common than it first appears Mia', Manfred chuckled. I felt like turning round and punching him in his pale smug face, but I told myself that this would not help the situation so instead I just stayed quiet. However Manfred had other ideas as suddenly he tightened his grip on my arm, now I could defiantly feel pain. I tried to ignore the pain but Manfred just gripped even tighter until I could bare it no longer 'LET GO OF ME NOW MANFRED!' I shouted this just resulted in Manfred gripping me even more 'fine you asked for it' I muttered. I looked around until I found a suitable object to launch at Manfred's greasy head, the next thing Manfred saw was a huge book flying across the room aimed at his head. Manfred instantly let go of my arms and jumped out of the way, I then spun round to face Manfred as I did this I created a fireball in my hand ready to throw at his face. 'Remarkable she can conjure up fire from nowhere in an instant' I spun around again to face Ezekiel who was staring at me as if I was a great prize he has just won. Realising I had just given myself away again I closed my hand and the fireball vanished, I felt like slapping myself how could I have let my anger get the better of me again. They had just assumed that my gift was along the lines of Manfred's endowment whereas now they know that my gift is a more advanced version how could I have been so stupid.

Realising there was nothing that I could do about the situation I decided that there was no point beating myself up about it as if I did that chances are I would reveal a few more gifts tonight. 'Right well there you are you know another one of my endowments does this mean I can go to my dormitory now?' I asked trying to sound as polite as possible, 'oh but we still have eight more gifts to discuss' this time it was one of Charlie's other aunts who had spoken, she had grey hair so I guessed she was slightly older than Venetia was. 'Much as I would really love to stay and chat, I really must be going' I said as I started to step backwards towards the door. Then a hand suddenly clamped down on my shoulder and squeezed 'oh but we were having so much fun' Manfred sneered. 'Well then I am sure you can look forward to the next time we meet like this then can't you Manfred' I said as I tried to move away from under his grip. Before anyone else in the room could say anything there was a knock at the door 'yes who is it?' Ezekiel snapped, at this Weedon shuffled in and whispered something in Ezekiel's ear. Then Ezekiel turned to me 'yes you may leave but we will be seeing a lot more of each other very soon Mia', 'I will look forward to it Mr Bloor' I replied calmly.

I was so relieved when I finally managed to get into bed and my head hit the pillow, I hoped sleep would come easily to me but it didn't. I couldn't stop thinking about the Bloor's guest whose arrival had caused Weedon to interrupt my meeting with them earlier. This guest was the first of many I was sure of that, things were stirring in the city, evil and dark things, things that did not signal times of joy and happiness for those of us who chose to be on the side of right as it were. I don't know what time I eventually got to sleep it felt like my eyes had only been closed for a second when morning arrived and with that the start of school. 'You look awful' Gabriel smiled as he sat down next to me at the breakfast table 'what happened to you last night? Charlie said Manfred had taken you for a meeting with his aunts and old Ezekiel Bloor.' 'Yeah he did and they managed to get another one of my gifts out of me but never mind I still have plenty more up my sleeve' I smiled back there was something about Gabriel that made me feel at ease and I couldn't help smiling despite the fact smiling had been the last thing on my mind a couple of seconds ago. 'You certainly do' he chuckled 'so do you mind telling me which endowment they managed to get out of you?' he asked kindly 'it doesn't matter if you don't want to tell me' he added 'I would understand.' I laughed 'of course I will tell you I would tell you all what all my gifts are but I don't want the Bloor's to then hurt you all to find out about my gifts if that makes sense.' 'Yeah that makes a lot of sense' Gabriel grinned 'well the endowment the Bloor's got out of me last night is my ability to control fire, the only reason they found out is because Manfred used his burning trick on my arm but nothing happened so my own body gave me away.' I laughed 'wow you can control fire that is really cool' 'thanks I can also create it as well' Gabriel just started at me. 'You can do what?' I decided it would be easier just to show him so I opened the palm of my hand just a little under the table, but I opened it enough so that Gabriel could see the fireball that was sitting in the palm of my hand. 'Wow that gift defiantly beats mine' he joked 'I disagree completely' I smiled 'you can relive the past through other peoples clothes and find out what happened to them and as history is my favourite subject you can see why I am so jealous of you for that.' I beamed 'and secondly just think in years to come when friends and family you loved are gone you will be able to hold a piece of clothing that used to be theirs and relive the memories of them time and time again. Every endowment has its advantages and disadvantages its strengths and weaknesses so don't focus on the negatives but focus on the positives.' Gabriel looked at me for a moment in silence then he said 'I have never thought of my endowment like that before' 'well maybe you should in future then you wouldn't view your endowment so negatively and you will start to see how special your gift really is.' I was concentrating on my conversation with Gabriel that I hadn't noticed that everyone else was leaving for the start of school 'quick we better get a move on otherwise we will be late and I really don't want a detention the thought of spending an extra night in this school is not a pleasant one.'

My lesson's didn't go as quickly as they previously had gone I don't know whether this was because I was tired after last night or whether it was because I was thinking about the evil that was starting to spread it self throughout the city, I don't know, one thing I did know was that I was glad not one of my teachers asked me any questions. By the time evening came I thought I could sleep for a month, I was sat in the canteen trying to force myself to eat the food that was in front of me, despite the fact I wasn't entirely sure what it was. 'Are you alright Mia?' I looked up 'oh hi Gabriel yeah I'm fine thanks just a bit tired I think. Nothing a good night's sleep won't cure' he smiled at me 'well that's good to hear for a moment I was worried that the Bloor's were starting to get to you.' 'To me? No never' I laughed 'Well don't worry I will always be here to watch your back if they ever do.' 'Thanks Gabriel that's really kind of you' 'well I mean it.' 'What are you two talking about?' Charlie grinned 'oh nothing much' Gabriel shrugged, 'you better hurry up eating Mia otherwise you will miss pudding' Charlie said grinning even more than before.

Soon enough it was time for us to be heading off to the king's room 'this is my least favourite part of the day' I grumbled. 'Don't worry Mia what's the worst that could happen besides we will all be there' Gabriel said with a small smile 'I know that it's just that Manfred creeps me out' I laughed. To my surprise the king's room that night was very uneventful, Manfred didn't say anything to me or to anyone really which was nice however he did look rather pleased with himself which made me feel slightly nervous. However I was very relieved when nothing happened and I was allowed to go up to my dormitory and finally get some much needed sleep. As I got into bed and closed my eyes I couldn't help think that something big was going to happen soon and everybody knew it even the city itself.

The morning arrived and I reluctantly got out of bed, one thing I disliked about Bloor's was how cold the dormitory's got, due to the cold it made he quite hard to force yourself to get out of bed in the mornings. As I sat on my bed waiting for my body to actually wake up I started to fiddle with my ring 'that's a pretty ring where did you get it?' I looked in the direction the voice had come from and recognised April from my history class. 'Oh thanks yeah it's been in the family for years' I smiled, April then headed towards the bathroom. I looked down at my ring again and I watched it as it slowly turned from red to blue, what I had said to April was strictly true the ring had been in the family a long time but what I hadn't told her was that it was actually a wand. Well four wands to be exact, one from each of the sorcerers and sorceresses that had been in my family. The original ring had belonged to Isabella who had been a sorceress over four hundred years ago and had left her ring to her descendants. The three sorcerers also left their wands in the family so when my great grandmother had inherited all four she decided to combine them into one and then this ring was formed out of Isabella's magical ring and the three wands. The ring due to the fact that it is made up of four wands changes colour depending on which wand is more dominant at the time. Red was the colour of Isabella's ring and Blue was the colour for Llywelyn one of the sorcerers, this was another thing that I didn't want the Bloor's to find out about. I knew Manfred and the Bloor's had been after Charlie's wand for a while so I intended to keep mine hidden and secret from them. The trouble is the more secrets and things you try to keep hidden the more likely it is that you will let something slip.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The rest of the week flew by and before I knew it, it was Friday morning 'thank heavens it's Friday' I beamed at Charlie, Gabriel and Fidelio as we sat eating our breakfasts, 'yeah Friday is always such a good day as its not long till the weekend' Gabriel grinned back at me. We all finished our breakfasts and then started to head to the music department for our usual morning assembly as we made our way towards music there was a loud bang up ahead. We raced up the corridor and we found Billy sprawled on the floor with the two Branko twins standing over him. 'Billy are you alright?' I asked as Charlie and Gabriel helped him up off the ground, before Billy had time to answer a table that had been sitting in an alcove in the corridor suddenly came flying at our heads. 'STOP IT' I yelled as I stopped the table in mid-air and set it back down where it belonged 'what are you trying to do? Kill someone' I asked angrily. The twins just looked at us with their china doll faces and didn't say anything then without warning one of them, I don't know which one, used their endowment to lift a vase high into the air and then to all of our surprise they tipped it on their own heads. 'What did you do that for?' Charlie asked in bewilderment, 'that's a good question Bone, why did you do that to poor Idith and Inez Mia?' 'WHAT' I exclaimed, 'WHAT' Charlie, Gabriel, Billy and Fidelio shouted, 'it wasn't me sir I didn't tip the water on their heads they did it themselves.' 'You mean to say that these two poor girls tipped a vase of water onto their own heads for no apparent reason, does that sound realistic to you Mia?' As Manfred said this I realised that it had all been one big trap and I had walked spectacularly into it, I saw the smirk on Manfred's face and I know that I wasn't going to be going home tonight. 'Well Mia I think you have just got yourself detention this weekend', the urge to smack Manfred in the face was so strong I had to put my hands behind my back 'but sir you know I didn't do anything.' 'Do I? All I know is that these two girls are covered in water and you are the only person around who could have done it to them so I will see you tonight Mia and we can discuss your behaviour, now get to your assembly's all of you, or you will be late.'

I spent the rest of the day fuming, I had been looking forward to freedom so much and now that freedom was postponed for an extra day, to top it all off I was to spend a whole day in the school by myself surrounded by the Bloor's and their cronies. 'Great' I murmured, 'Cheer up Mia, detention isn't too bad you get to explore the academy and the grounds during the day', 'I think the Bloor's have a slightly different weekend schedule planned for me Charlie.' I was trying not to be too angry or annoyed about it as it wasn't fair to take it out on the people around me but I was finding it really hard to think about anything else apart from the Bloor's and their plans. 'How are you doing Mia?' I smiled at the sound of the voice 'I am doing fine Gabriel thanks don't worry about me' I smiled at him. 'well I do worry the Bloor's are after you and they really want you, I mean really want you so I don't really like the thought of you being here an extra day by yourself.' I looked at Gabriel for a moment speechless and then I grinned at him 'that is probably one of the nicest things anyone apart from my parents has ever said to me' I laughed 'and I appreciate your concern, but I will be fine don't worry, or should I say try not to worry' I beamed. 'Come on Gabriel we will miss the bus if we don't go now' Fidelio shouted, 'go' I said giving him a slight push in the direction of the entrance hall, 'ok but take care of yourself Mia.' With that Gabriel turned and headed towards the busses, as I watched the doors slowly close I felt someone come up behind me 'well Mia it looks like it's just you and me now, won't that be fun.' I turned to face Manfred 'I can't wait I replied' 'well it's a good job you don't have to then isn't it?' Manfred grinned before I could react to Manfred's thoughts he had grabbed the back of my neck and was squeezing it which resulted in a feeling of discomfort mixed with pain. 'Get you hand off me now' I whispered, 'no you see Great Grandfather enjoyed your chat so much he would like to see you again, the sooner the better, so we better not keep him waiting.' With that Manfred pushed me in front of him still holding the back of my neck and proceeded to direct me along the corridors using his grip on my neck to indicate the way. As we were nearly there Manfred gave one particularly hard squeeze and I could not bear it any longer 'LET GO' I screamed at Manfred, this seemed to take him by surprise and he did indeed let go at this I tried to turn back the way we had come and hide somewhere. Manfred however was not taken by surprise for long and as I made to run past him he grabbed me by the waist with both arms and preceded to half drag, half carry me up the final part of the corridor. Much to my horror although not to my surprise Manfred seemed to enjoy this method of transportation even more than the previous method, as we reached the door he let go of me with one hand and turned the handle, but before I could get any ideas about trying to make a move for it again he had swiftly replaced his hand and then he dragged me into the room.

As I was being dragged into the room I realised that it was the same room as before with a large fireplace at one end and a long table which seemed to take up most of the room. As before Ezekiel was sat by the fire surrounded by the Yewbeam sisters all with the same cruel, hungry expressions on their faces. Manfred dragged me over to the fire and consequently near to his great grandfather, once we were within two meters of Ezekiel Manfred stopped. 'Can you let go of me now please?' I asked Manfred trying to sound as polite as possible 'oh but that would spoil all the fun Mia' he whispered in my ear, I couldn't help but shiver. Trying to sound as brave as I could I asked again, 'oh let the girl go Manfred' Venetia said in a sickly sweet voice 'after all we want Mia here, to feel comfortable and at home here don't we?' At this she turned to her sisters who all nodded in unison, Manfred chuckled and then after giving me one last squeeze he relinquished his grip, I stumbled forward as he released me but I managed to regain my balance. 'There we go, see how much more comfortable that is already' she smiled at me, there was a scrapping noise behind me so I turned around and saw Manfred coming up behind me carrying this large wooden chair that looked older than the academy itself. 'Here you are Mia' Manfred smiled 'this will make you even more comfortable' he then set the chair down next to me and indicated for me to sit. 'I think I would rather stand if that's ok with you' I said 'come now Mia please sit' I looked towards Ezekiel as he spoke, I tried to think of something else to say, when Manfred grabbed my shoulder and forced me into the chair 'sit' he commanded. 'I'm not a dog' I snapped at Manfred, 'of course you're not my dear but we want you to be comfortable while we have a nice chat.' I looked round the room studying all the faces and minds of the people surrounding me and it didn't take me long to reach the conclusion that there was no way on earth was ever going to do anything they wanted me to do, and there was no way I was going to let them carry out their plans.

'So Mia' Ezekiel said while doing his best impression of a friendly smile 'do you know why we want to have another little chat with you?' He asked again trying to seem as friendly as possible, I knew once I had made it clear that there was no way I would ever join their side as it were then this friendly act would be dropped. 'Yes' I tried my sweetest smile 'it's because you wish to carry on our earlier conversation about my endowments however as I said earlier I wish to keep my gifts hidden.' 'Well Mia as we have already said that answer is not good enough so you will tell us your gifts one way or another' 'is that a threat?' I said raising my voice slightly while turning to look at Manfred who stood just to my left, Manfred grinned at me 'only if you want it to be.' 'Only if I want it to be? what does that mean?' I said struggling to keep my voice even 'it means that if you don't tell us your gifts then we may be forced to use other err…. Methods should we say to get the information we want.' We carried on looking at each other for what felt like a life time until I glanced into Manfred's mind and realised that he was about to turn his hypnotic eyes on full beam. I quickly turned my gaze to a less dangerous pair of eyes, not that any of these sets of eyes could be classed as soft and cuddly but at least these sets of eyes couldn't hypnotise me. They all seemed to look quite disappointed and I realised that they had all expected Manfred to hypnotise me and therefore make their integration much easier. 'You know about two of my gifts isn't that enough for starters?' I asked them although it was a foolish hope to expect them to say yes and let me go, it wasn't long before Ezekiel replied 'yes well you see the thing about starters is that they only ever leave you wanting more and that's why the main course then arrives to satisfy that hunger.' I just stared defiantly back at him 'so Mia last chance of us asking you nicely to tell us the nature of your endowments.' 'I am afraid, I am not going to tell you what my other endowments are' I said each word very clearly so that there would be no confusion over what I said. 'I was hoping you would say that' Manfred grinned 'let the fun begin', then without warning he suddenly threw a blanket over me. I was taken aback what on earth were they trying to do make me over heat then I saw the smirk on Venetia's face and I remembered her talent with clothes and material. I tried to pull it off me but I was too late the blanket had already started to weigh a lot more than a normal blanket should and as I tried to life it off the weight increased even more. Eventually the blanket weighed more than I could lift and its full weight fell on top of me, when it hit the air was knocked out of me and for a moment I felt very light headed. I was trapped in the chair under the weight of this blanket, the blanket covered nearly my whole body so eventually the only things I could move were my head and my feet, the rest of me was trapped underneath this bewitched blanket.

'Now this is much better' Manfred grinned you can't get away from me now and there is no Charlie Bone here to save you now. Panic started to wash over me 'NO Mia come on keep it together, if you start panicking then you stand no hope come on Charlie said that he managed to resist Manfred before so get a grip' I told myself firmly. Manfred leaned over me so that his face was inches away from mine, I tried to turn my head from side to side but then two cold hands gripped either side of my head so that I couldn't move it, 'thank you Venetia' Manfred smirked. 'Now Mia let's see what is going on inside your head shall we' I jammed my eyes shut and began concentrating on the hole that I was currently trying to burn through the blanket. 'Mia, Mia open your eyes and look at me, come on Mia all it takes is one little look and then all this can stop.' Despite my best efforts my eyes started to open 'NO' I shouted and jammed them shut again, I could hear Manfred chuckling 'come on Mia you know you want to just open your eyes and take a look what harm could it do?' His voice sounded so convincing and so velvety that I couldn't help myself and I began to open my eyes, 'come on Mia don't let him win so easily' I small whisper urged from somewhere in the back of my mind. Then it struck me I should read his mind then all he would get would be his own thoughts, I mean it would give another one of my endowments away but it would protect the rest plus mind reading was a very hard endowment to keep hidden, as you learn so many things that you shouldn't know which if you let slip can leave you in a very sticky situation. As my eyes opened I started to read his mind 'well done Mia that's it' Manfred said in his velvety voice as my eyes started opening, I just carried on reading his mind and I read the confusion that then started to fill his mind as he realised what was going on 'STOP IT MIA' Manfred shouted. I ignored this and carried on reading his mind and the further I dug the worse it got for Manfred as I started to reach his more personal memories and brought them to the front of his mind, memories of his mother and of his childhood. I knew that eventually Manfred would give up on trying to hypnotise me so all I needed to do was to keep reading his mind until he gave up. With one last yell of annoyance and anger Manfred straightened up and moved away from me, the hands that had been holding my head dropped away and Venetia went to re-join her sisters behind Ezekiel's chair.

While this was all going on I proceeded to try and burn my way through the blanket, but my fire didn't seem to be having any real effect on the blanket. I decided to try a different approach I positioned my hand with the ring on it so that the ring was touching the blanket then I concentrated hard on what I wanted the wand to do. My hand started to heat up as it does when my wands now ring are working their magic as it were, gradually I could feel the weight of the blanket decreasing until eventually it was as light as a normal blanket again. While I was dealing with the blanket Manfred had been composing himself and he now re-entered my vision and he had regained his trademark smirk.

'What happened Manfred' Ezekiel asked angrily 'I'm not sure' Manfred said looking at me curiously, all the eyes in the room turned to stare at me. 'Well if that's all I really should be going' I said as I made to get up. I knew removing the blanket would make them realise something was up but they were going to find out sooner or later that I had done something to the blanket so I didn't see the point in delaying the inevitable. I stood up and dropped the blanket onto the floor I then proceeded to make my way to the door hoping to capitalise on the shock of me removing the blanket. I didn't really have a plan all I wanted to do was go home maybe I would shape shift into a bird and fly out of the nearest window or just blast my way out of the front door. Secretly I knew all these ideas were stupid but after being stuck under that blanket all I wanted to be was free. I was so close to the door that I could almost touch the handle when two arms grabbed me by the waist and yanked me backwards. 'Now where do you think you're going Mia? We haven't finished with you yet' I knew there was no point struggling so I just let him drag me back towards the fire and towards the people waiting for me. He dragged me over to the wooden chair and pushed me back into it then moved to stand behind me where he placed a hand on each shoulder and exerted enough pressure on my shoulders to leave me in no doubt that I wasn't going to be moving anywhere.

'How did you get that blanket off?' Venetia asked 'I don't know' I responded calmly 'maybe the enchantment just wore off.' 'Impossible it wouldn't have worn off just like that my dear are you sure you don't have any idea?' She asked politely although I could tell she was getting frustrated 'I really don't know' I said trying to sound as sweet and innocent as possible. 'That's a very interesting ring you have on Mia' I tried to keep the look of panic hidden as I turned to the Yewbeam sister who had spoken, it was the grey haired sister who I now realised was a clairvoyant. No wonder she spotted it I thought, I looked down at my ring which I realised was changing colour at a rapid rate and consequently making it even more noticeable. 'What this old thing?' I said trying to act casual 'yes that old thing' she said trying to smile 'where did you get it from?' 'Oh I don't know it was given to me by my grandmother before she died and so I wear it as a reminder of her.' 'How sweet may I have a closer look at it?' Venetia added moving closer to me alongside her sister, I held out my hand which was quickly grabbed by the grey haired sister who I guessed was Eustacia from what Charlie had told me about his aunts and their talents. 'Interesting very interesting' they both said almost in unison, then Venetia tried to take it off my finger I could feel the ring heating up as she kept trying to pull it off 'I really wouldn't do that if I were you' I warned. The sisters ignored my warning and seconds later they both cried out in pain and jumped back away from my hand. 'YOU HORRIBLE SPITFUL CHILD' Venetia cried at me 'look what you have done to me' and she revealed her hand which by this time was covered in horrible warts. 'I didn't do anything to you' I replied quietly 'no you didn't do anything but your ring did' I looked up at Eustacia as she said this and I knew that my ring had just confirmed her suspicions. 'What do you mean?' Manfred asked quickly 'I mean that her ring did this to our hands not Mia' 'but how could a ring do that to your hands?' Ezekiel joined in 'because it's a wand.'

Manfred's face suddenly lit up like a child's face on Christmas day 'a wand did you say how fascinating', Manfred now bent his head so that it was level with my head 'how talented you are Mia not only do you have ten endowments but you also have a wand and the ability to use it. Such a clever girl' Manfred then proceeded to take one hand off my shoulder and pat me on the head as if I were a dog or something. I sat there scowling like a little child, I didn't know what to say or what to do, nothing in my life had ever prepared me for the Bloor's and their school. All I could think was that someone should write a manual or instruction book for these sorts of situations I mean what are you supposed to do when you want to hide your gifts but people are trying to get them out of you. I wouldn't have to be going through this if my mother hadn't accidently told the Bloor's I had ten gifts, now because they know I have ten I have to keep them hidden as if I reveal nine of the ten it would make them even more hungry for the tenth. The tenth of course being healing, a gift I was determined not to let the Bloor's ever find out about. So in order to keep healing hidden I had to try and keep them all hidden, So that the Bloor's could find out about my other endowments over time and thus prolonging the length of time before they got to my tenth endowment. All this was going through my mind while Manfred was still patting my head, I tried to control my temper but it's quite hard to control your temper while someone is patting you on the head.

'Manfred that's enough leave the clever girl alone' Ezekiel chuckled 'Now Mia let's have a closer look at that ring.' 'No' I said defiantly, I knew that they wouldn't be able to get the ring off my finger even if they tried for a decade. This is because it's a wand and wands get quite attached to their owners, like Charlie's wand stays with him mine stays with me. My grandmother who had been the previous owner of the ring had told me that the ring could not be removed by anyone except the owner and that the owner could never be made to take it off. She also said that even if someone tried to cut my finger off to remove the ring they wouldn't be able to as the ring has a sort of force field around it that basically protects my hand from harm, which I always thought was quite cool. 'No?' Venetia repeated 'NO' I said again although slightly louder than before 'well we will see about that.'

For the next two and a half hours they took it in turns to try and force the ring off my finger, they tried rubbing various lotions and potions on my hand. While they were doing this I felt very relieved that the ring came with its own force field as some of the potions made horrible hissing sounds as they made contact with the floor and one even burnt a hole through the arm of the wooden chair I was sat on. 'It's no use' Venetia eventually cried, 'we could always try cutting it off?' Manfred suggested, 'what the ring or her finger?' Lucretia asked, I knew it was Lucretia because she is also the school matron. To my horror she sounded deadly serious when she had suggested cutting my finger off, again I was relieved about the protection the ring offered my hand. 'You can't cut it off' Ezekiel said in a horrified tone if you cut the ring you may jeopardise its power, Ezekiel then turned to me 'take it off' he said to me calmly. 'No' I replied 'I said TAKE IT OFF' He shouted, 'NO', the room went silent, 'Manfred why don't you take Mia to her new accommodation for the night and then maybe we will see if she changes her mind.' 'With pleasure' Manfred replied with a smirk he then grabbed me by my right arm and proceeded to drag me out of the room. I was dragged through a maze or corridors and tunnels, I noticed that the further along the corridors we went the colder it got. I couldn't help but shiver, Manfred noticed this and grinned, eventually we stopped outside a room which Manfred then unlocked. 'Here you go Mia make yourself comfortable as this is your new home' Manfred then pushed my inside the room with such force that I fell over luckily I landed on a bed although it wasn't like any bed I have ever slept on before. I quickly turned around to find that Manfred had already closed the door and locked it 'sweet dreams Mia' he chuckled as he made his way back through the maze of corridors.

I sat on the bed and looked around the room; it had a sink and toilet in one corner although neither looked like they had been cleaned in a few decades. There was also a small table and chair the bed I was sat on and a small bedside table. There was one window in the room, I moved off the bed and towards the window, I now realised why it was so cold in here, there was no glass in the window. I gazed out at the academy grounds it was dark but I could still make out the outline of the ruin, I don't know what it is about the ruin but whenever I see it I feel different, I can't quite describe it but it makes me feel better. I don't know how long I gazed at the ruin however it got to the point that I could no longer feel my fingers or toes. I went back to the bed and sat on it so that my back was resting against the wall it was up against. I realised that all there was for warmth in the room was a moth eaten blanket, the Bloor's can lock me in this room but there is no way I am sleeping under that I thought. As they already knew about my wand I saw no harm in using it, within a few minutes I had replaced the mattress on the bed and all the sheets, conjured up a duvet and blanket and cleaned the toilet and sink although not by hand I might add. All that was left was some light I created a candle with a soft glow of light which I then placed on the bed side table, I looked around the room and smiled this was much better. My stomach then gave a loud grumble, I had forgotten that I hadn't eaten since lunch and that had been hours ago I quickly conjured up a ham sandwich, a sandwich wasn't really what I had wanted to eat but I had discovered over the years that when it came to conjuring up food the simpler the better. My eye lids began to feel as heavy as Venetia's blanket had so I crawled into bed and pulled the covers up and before I knew it I was asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I awoke to the sound of the key turning in the lock I quickly removed all the evidence of my nights work, the last item had just vanished as Manfred opened the door. 'Sleep well Mia?' Manfred asked with his usual smirk 'yes wonderfully' I replied which was actually the truth although it was obvious Manfred thought I was lying. 'Well here is your breakfast' he chuckled and he handed me a plate with a slice of bread on it 'thanks' I said politely as I took the plate from him. 'What time are my parents arriving?' I asked, Manfred frowned 'they will be collecting you at four' he said with an air of disappointment ' I'm surprised you're letting them pick me up.' 'Trust me we are not letting them collect you willingly, however your parents are well versed in the rules of our school and rang us last night in order to ask what time to pick you up. My father tried to say that you had been given another detention, but your father then said that as that was against school rules the headmaster must be mistaken and then asked again what time you should be picked up.' I couldn't help but laugh at this, the thought of my dad holding his own against the Bloor's was a funny thought, as he was normally such a quiet man. 'Don't look so pleased with yourself' Manfred barked at me 'I'm not pleased with myself I am pleased with my dad' I grinned, for a moment Manfred was speechless 'eat you breakfast and I will be back in half an hour to collect you.' With that he left the room locking it behind him as he went.

The smile stayed on my face until Manfred came to collect me again, my smile annoyed Manfred which just made me smile more. 'Stop that' Manfred said through gritted teeth 'stop what?' I asked innocently, 'you know full well' he said. Manfred then took me by the arm and lead me out of my prison, he lead me off back through the maze of corridors that, unlike last night the further along them we went the warmer it got. We stopped outside the same room as the night before; I sighed as Manfred led me inside the room and led me over to the now familiar wooden chair. I took my seat and Manfred took his position behind my head just in case I tried anything, 'hello Mia did you have a good night?' I don't think I will ever get used to Ezekiel Bloor's voice it sounded so old, too old in fact but at the same time it also sounded so cunning and cruel. 'Yes thank-you' I replied with a smile, Ezekiel looked slightly taken aback by my cheery attitude and he looked at Manfred, as if he was looking for an explanation. However Ezekiel obviously finding no answers in Manfred's face turned his attention back to me 'really? Well how lovely' he said with an attempt at a smile. 'Here she is sisters' a voice from behind cried we were worried that we might have missed it' the speaker had now come into view and it was Venetia Charlie's great aunt. 'No don't worry lady's you are just in time, Mia here was just telling me about her night' 'was she now? How was it my dear?' Eustacia asked with a chuckle 'it was very pleasant thank-you and the view of the ruin was beautiful' I smiled at her. All four sisters exchanged confused looks and then looked at Ezekiel 'well I am glad you liked your room and the view' Ezekiel sniggered and at that everyone in the room began to laugh. I just sat there smiling sweetly, I kept trying to come up with some kind of plan but in the end I just decided to try and sit it out, I looked at the clock on the fireplace and saw that it was ten o'clock. 'Six hours' I thought to myself I can last six hours all I have to do is stay calm and keep the remainder of my gifts hidden.

Eventually the laughing subsided and all the eyes in the room returned to staring at me. 'Right Mia let's get down to business' Manfred said while bringing his hands down rather hard on each of my shoulders. 'Yes business' Ezekiel repeated 'well Mia hopefully your stay in one of our less comfortable rooms has helped you to come to your senses.' 'As I said before Mr Bloor I had a very comfortable night and no I have not changed my mind, I will not take my ring off and you cannot take it off by force. Besides I couldn't even take the ring off if I wanted to' I added 'what do you mean you can't take it off' 'I mean I can't take it off its part of the wands protective enchantments.' I explained, this wasn't strictly true as I could only take it off if I really wanted to but as I never would want to except to pass it on it was practically the truth. 'Well we will see about that' Venetia added 'we have a few more tools up our sleeves so we will soon see whether or not we can take that ring off.' The next three hours saw the four sisters, Manfred and Ezekiel trying and failing to remove the ring from my finger. It was actually quite comical to watch as they were gradually all looking more and more dishevelled and desperate. 'It's no good' Manfred finally exclaimed, 'it isn't going to come off, not like this anyway.' 'What do you mean not like this?' Ezekiel asked 'well' Manfred said with a sneer on his face. I instantly felt sick as I read his mind, 'well we could hypnotise her into taking it off'. 'But she said it's Impossible for her to take it off 'Charlie's grandmother butted in. Ezekiel and Manfred both shot her an identical look and she immediately took a step backwards.

'Hypnotise her of course, although your previous attempt at hypnotising her didn't go too well, did it?' 'No' Manfred snapped 'but I do think it is worth another go.' 'Oh very well then but you had better not fail again Manfred, otherwise you will start to loose you're usefulness.' Manfred moved round the chair so that he was facing me, as he was doing this someone moved round the back of the chair and grabbed my head. Whoever it was, was digging their nails into my head, I tried to ignore the pain as I knew I would need to concentrate on Manfred. 'Come on Mia' I told myself 'You have done it before and you will do it again', too much was at stake to give in to Manfred and those eyes.

'Mia look at me' there he went with that voice, that voice that was so convincing, the voice that made me want to do anything it asked. 'Concentrate' I shouted to myself. I started to read Manfred's mind and this time I went as deep as I could into his memories, I dragged them to the surface of his mind one by one, delving deeper every time. Memories of his mother and his childhood were my main aim, as those are a soft spot for pretty much everyone. 'Mia' Manfred warned, but I just carried on, 'Mia.' This time Manfred shouted my name and gripped the top of my arms. 'Be a good girl Mia and then we can all be friends' Manfred snarled at me.

'Enough' Ezekiel said. 'No' Manfred exclaimed 'I can do it just give me more time'. 'No' Ezekiel snapped 'we have already wasted enough time on this, besides' he said with a grin 'we have other methods that may prove effective that we have yet to try.' 'But', 'Manfred our visitor is here to meet our young guest and it would be rude to keep him waiting.' At these words Manfred grinned 'oh yes, I had forgotten about him'

Mind reading is not always a good endowment to have as it means that I get to see and hear the horrible things that are in store for me and the thoughts currently going round and round in Manfred's head would defiantly qualify as horrible. The visitor they were talking about was the father of one of the other children of the red kind at the school.

Lord Grimwald, Dagbert's father was the Bloor's latest tactic at getting me to spill my secrets to them. Despite the fact that I knew I was in no danger I still felt slightly sick as Manfred pushed me down the hall to the room that contained Grimwald. 'Have fun' Manfred chuckled as we reached the room at the end of a large corridor. 'Thanks' I muttered as I was pushed inside the door. I heard the key click in the lock behind me, as Manfred locked me in the room with the Lord of the Oceans.

The smell of the sea was so strong that for a moment I was convinced I must be at the seaside. The smell of salt and fish filled my nostrils as I looked round the room. It was a huge room with a large fountain in the middle of it. This fountain must have been brought in especially for the Bloor's guest as it had no other reason to be there other than to provide a water source for Grimwald.

'So you must be Mia?' I spun round to find the owner of the voice and there he stood just casually leaning against one of the long walls. 'Yes' I replied as confidently as I could, 'and you must be Lord Grimwald.' 'I am' he replied and as he said this he slowly started moving towards me, the way the tide slowly starts to creep up the beach. I stood still my eyes fixed on his face, his face reminded me so much of the sea on the outside it looked so inviting and fun, just as the sea does on a warm summer's day. However a closer look revealed the hidden danger that lurked beneath like a fast current that threatened to snatch an idle swimmer away to their death if they were not careful.

'I am sure you know why you have been brought here to me, but just in case you don't I will enlighten you. You have been brought here because the Bloor's seem to be having some communication problems with you and they hope that I will be able to sort them out.' 'Communication problems?' I asked sweetly 'No I don't think there are any communication problems at least not at my end.' 'Good so you have decided to tell the Bloor's everything they want to know' he said in a dull tone. 'No that's not what I said at all, I said that I had no communication problem I understand everything they say however they seem to be having a problem understanding the bit about me not telling them what my abilities are.'

'I see well there does defiantly appear to be a problem then.' He said with a grin 'let's see what I can do to help the problem.' With that the water from the fountain started to spill over the sides and onto the floor. 'It appears you have a bit of a leak' I said to him while I was moving slightly further away from him and the over flowing water. I wasn't afraid that I was going to drown as I can control all the elements not just fire and thankfully water is one of the elements. However I still bracing myself for a battle, a mental battle more than a physical battle but a battle none the less.


End file.
